Drawn To You (boyxboy)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Peter

The front door of the Van Grayson house seemed a little less inviting than the last time I'd come by. I guessed that when you'd run panicked from a place with a knife through your arm, it did somewhat change your perception of it. Even though I knew everything was fine now, I couldn't help but feel the base instinct to run away from danger.

Christian was in his car, only a few feet away, and I knew that his hand was poised on the door handle. It had taken an hour just to convince him to let me come here. As soon as he'd heard that I wanted to, he came barreling down the stairs, yelling about how they'd tried to kill us just a few days before. When I'd finally calmed him down, he insisted on coming with me, despite the fact that he was still in recovery.

Now I stood at the hunter's door, knuckles against the hard wood and sandpaper in my throat. I heard footsteps thundering in my direction, and then the door swung open, Kayla beaming at me from the other side. "Ugh, finally, I was beginning to think you'd theatrically changed your mind and decided to shun me from your life and move to Toronto or something."

She had called me the night after the whole trial and execution thing to find out how I was doing. We talked for a while, about my wolf side and her refusal to enter the family business. She'd told me that the guys who had ambushed Dannon were two of her cousins, Xavier and Leroy, and they were already on their way back home. They had really put their guns down.

"Kayla, I texted you five minutes ago that I was on my way," I muttered, shaking my head. "And why is it that I'm always moving to places that start with a T in these crazy fantasies of yours?"

"My guess is I had a loose page from an atlas lying around in my room that I was too lazy to throw away," she replied, throwing her arms in the air, and began to walk back into the house. When she realized that I hadn't followed after her, she stopped and turned with a frown on her face.

"I think it'd be better if we talked out here," I said with an awkward shrug. "It won't take long."

She looked fazed for a moment, but then she smiled sadly and reached for my arm. "Just... Try to remember that this was just the before. It doesn't have to be the after."

She nodded slightly, and then went back indoors and disappeared to the right. After a few seconds, he appeared in the living room. Mitch Van Grayson. The man whose house had been like my second home since sophomore year. The person who had given me 'the talk' after an interesting scene in a movie. Someone I'd trusted.

As he stepped through the doorway, an image flashed through my eyes of the look on his face when he'd raised his rifle up to my chest, and I instinctively stepped back. The latch in the car door behind me clicked, and I clenched my fist, urging Christian to stay put. Mitch stopped where he was, his hands held up, and nodded. "You wanted to talk out in the open. Where anyone can see us, and I have no access to any weapons."

"Can you blame me?" I responded, folding my arms. "Whenever there's one around, it seems to find itself into your hands and aimed at me."

He patted the inner side of his leg. "Then you should know that I always have a pistol and a knife on me. I'd appreciate it if you keep that to yourself." His humor fizzled away at my expressionless stare, and he exhaled softly. "Peter, you have to know that I never wanted any of this. But with my line of duty, there's no luxury of sentiment for anyone outside the family. Ever since I was inducted into the hunters, it's always been protection of humanity first, no matter what."

"I get why you did what you did," I said, my lips pursed. "There was a moment when we were ran into one of your guys, and I was worried that... If it hadn't been Christian, and instead someone like me who was still learning to control their strength, he could've been dead. And I guess that's why turning was outlawed."